SusChEM: Environmentally Friendly Microfiber Polycarbonate Meshes for Continuous Oil Retrieval

非技术总结：溢油后最常用的清理技术是就地燃烧、机械方法（围油栏、撇油和真空）和化学分散剂和/或吸附剂材料。每种技术都有各自的优点和缺点，这决定了它们在各种溢油情况下的使用。最成功、最经济、最通用的方法之一是使用多孔吸附材料从水体表面去除油（即吸油海绵）。然而，这些合成吸附剂的选择性、可重复使用性、安全性以及缺乏生物降解性是值得关注的问题。该项目的目标是制备和探索一种环保的、可生物降解的吸油海绵，以提高溢油后的石油采收率。将合成不同的聚合物基材料，并对其机械性能、吸油性能和生物降解性进行表征。除了解决这种需要改进的环境友好的方法来清理溢油，这些研究活动将培养研究生谁将受益于跨学科的教育经验。这些活动将通过增加聚合物的基础科学知识，教育材料科学和工程方面的劳动力，并有可能导致改进聚合物技术以应对当今的挑战，从而为积极的社会成果做出贡献。技术概述：本提案的主要目标是开发一种基于新型、可生物降解、安全且高度可调的聚（碳酸甘油）网格的环保连续采油系统，同时在高度跨学科的研究环境中教育和培训本科生和研究生。具体来说，提出了一种结合机械（撇脂/真空）和合成生物可降解的吸附材料系统来回收溢油后的石油，解决了当前系统的回收、可重复使用、安全性和缺乏生物可降解性的问题。在目标1中，脂肪酸衍生的聚（1,3-碳酸甘油）s和聚（1,2-碳酸甘油）s将分别通过相应的碳酸盐或环氧化物与CO2开环聚合，以高收率合成分子量大于50,000 g/mol的聚（1,3-碳酸甘油）s库，并随后进行表征。在目标2中，将制备聚甘油碳酸酯的电纺丝聚合物网，并测定其吸油性、降解性和机械性能。在目标3中，将在连续的真空辅助系统中确定使用可生物降解的机械坚固聚合物网的石油提取/回收效率，并与目前的金标准吸附剂（无纺布聚丙烯网）进行比较。这些目标的完成将提供：1)功能化聚（1,3-碳酸甘油）s和聚（1,2-碳酸甘油）s的新合成方法；2)聚合物结构对降解速率控制的相关性；3)了解高孔聚碳酸甘油纤维网的油和水润湿性；4)开发新型聚合物材料的设计标准，以提高溢油后的石油采收率。

NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY:The most commonly used clean-up techniques after an oil spill are in-situ burning, mechanical methods (booms, skimming, and vacuums), and chemical dispersants and/or sorbent materials. Each technique possesses advantages and disadvantages that dictate their use in various oil-spill scenarios. One of the most successful, cost-effective, and versatile methods is the use of porous sorbent materials to remove oil from the surface of a body of water (i.e., an oil absorbing sponge). However, the oil selectivity, reusability, safety, and lack of biodegradability of these synthetic sorbent materials are of significant concern. The goal of this project is to prepare and explore an environmentally friendly, biodegradable oil absorbing sponge for enhanced oil recovery after an oil spill. Different polymer-based materials will be synthesized and characterized in terms of their mechanical and oil-absorbing properties and their biodegradability. In addition to addressing this need for improved environmentally friendly methods to clean up an oil spill, these research activities will train graduate students who will benefit from an interdisciplinary educational experience. These activities will contribute to positive societal outcomes by increasing fundamental scientific knowledge on polymers, educating the workforce in materials science and engineering, and potentially leading to improved polymer-based technologies for today's challenges.TECHNICAL SUMMARY:The primary goals of this proposal are to develop an environmentally friendly continuous oil recovery system based on new, biodegradable, safe, and highly tunable poly(glycerol carbonate) meshes, and at the same time educate and train undergraduate and graduate students in a highly interdisciplinary research environment. Specifically, a combined mechanical (skimming/vacuum) and synthetic biodegradable sorbent material system is proposed to retrieve oil after an oil spill that addresses the recovery, reusability, safety, and lack of biodegradability of the current systems. In Objective 1, a library of fatty acid derivatized poly(1,3-glycerol carbonate)s and poly(1,2-glycerol carbonate)s will be synthesized in high yield with molecular weight above 50,000 g/mol via ring-opening polymerization of the corresponding carbonate or epoxide with CO2, respectively, and subsequently characterized. In Objective 2, electrospun polymeric meshes of the poly(glycerol carbonate)s will be fabricated and the oil absorbent, degradation, and mechanical properties will be determined. In Objective 3, the efficiency of oil extraction/recovery using the biodegradable mechanically robust polymeric meshes will be determined in a continuous, vacuum-assisted system and compared to the current gold-standard sorbent (a nonwoven polypropylene mesh). Completion of these objectives will provide: 1) novel synthetic approaches to functionalized poly(1,3-glycerol carbonate)s and poly(1,2-glycerol carbonate)s; 2) correlation of polymer structure on the control of degradation rates; 3) an understanding of the oil and water wettability in highly porous poly(glycerol carbonate) fiber meshes; and 4) design criteria for developing new polymeric materials for enhanced oil recovery after an oil spill.